Meera Sodha’s Malaysian Dal Curry

Meera Sodha's Malaysian Dal Curry as seen and heard on The Recipe Podcast.

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 35 mins
4 people

Used in this recipe

Ingredients

3 tbsp rapeseed oil
10 fresh (or frozen) curry leaves
1 stick lemongrass, bruised
2 star anise
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground turmeric
1½ tsp kashmiri chilli
1½ tbsp tomato puree
300g red lentils
1¼ tsp fine sea salt
2 medium carrots (150g), peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
1½ tbsp tamarind paste
Crispy chilli oil, to serve – the Laoganma brand, which is widely available at large supermarkets, south-east Asian food stores and online, is far and away my favourite

Method

Put the oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat and, once hot, add the curry leaves, lemongrass and star anise and cook until the leaves crackle. Stir in the onion, cook for about six minutes, until soft and translucent, then add the garlic, cook for two minutes more.
Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli powder, stir to mix, then add the tomato puree, lentils and salt, and cook for two minutes.
Add the carrots and coconut milk, then fill up the empty coconut milk tin twice with tap water and add that to the pan, too.
Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20-25 minutes, until the dal is nice and thick and the carrots tender.
Stir through the tamarind paste, then taste and adjust the salt, chilli or tamarind as you see fit and serve topped with a spoonful of crispy chilli oil.
A nice bowl is always key for dal. Some freshly fried curry leaves on top and a bottle of Lao Gan ma chilli oil. Nice naan bread.

Top Tips

No one can mess up dal, so don't be scared.
Don't skip on the aromatics - the fresh curry leaves in particular, but also the lemongrass and star anise.
Find good side kicks - like a naan bread, crispy chilli in oil you like

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

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